In reviewing Britain’s relations with her allies, Sir Christopher Meyer advises against trusting other European countries too far because of their unwillingness to fight the war in Afghanistan (Farewell to Britain’s US mortgage from hell, News Review, last week). However, it is necessary to review not only with whom we use force but also the uses to which that force is put.

Perhaps the other Europeans are correct to think that the war in Afghanistan is unwinnable, and that a better, non-military policy should be followed instead. After all, not fighting the wrong war is just as fundamental to our security as is fighting the right one.